In my first year here at college, I've had to learn to make food for myself. I've always loved learning recipes and trying them out, but almost all recipe videos for vegans require a stove, food processor, and lots of stuff I do not have available to me.
After Christmas break, I decided to teach myself how to prepare food for my unique situation of life right now. I've started by seeking out alternatives and finding ways to make due with my microwave and $20 blender. Through ideas from other people and recipes, I've made some progress I'd like to share with you guys!
I'll start by giving you a run down of what I eat on a normal school day where I have a workout, class, and a shift of work.
My average days are either working out in the morning, class from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and then work 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. My other average day is work in the morning 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. & class from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. and lastly working out at the gym around 4 p.m. Either way, majority of the day is pretty busy. With all this business, it is easy to not eat the best or eat too much food. What I do to make sure I don't fall into my sweet tooth temptations (I struggle with that a lot) is I pack my lunch!
I pack my lunch first thing in the morning while my coffee is brewing. As well I do intermittent fasting (I eat for eight hours a day and don't eat for the other sixteen hours) so I don't eat my first meal in my dorm. I begin eating at 12:00 p.m. and eat for an eight hour window and stop any eating after 8:00 p.m.
My first go to meal that I pack is a banana and PB2. A banana is a high carb fruit that is an energy boost. Packed with potassium and goodness, it is a perfect food to break the fast with. PB2 is peanut butter, but in a powdered form. It is low in calories and has a lower carb and fat count rather than traditional peanut butter. All you do is take 2 tbsp of the powder and mix it with 1 tbsp of water and BOOM deliciousness!
My second meal I start eating around 2:00 or so. This is normally a salad of some sort. My go-to salad is spinach, baby tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, carrots, avocado (sometimes), mushrooms, cucumber, and a balsamic dressing if I'm needing a bit more flavor. I love packing this because it's an easy way to ensure I get a good serving of veggies in for the day. Normally if I'm on the go and hungry, I'll grab chips and salsa, a candy, or a bagel. These are ok in moderation, but while on a college campus it's easy to go for them everyday. Packing my lunch with a salad helps me curve that temptation and I end up feeling better and more energized throughout the day. If I'm feeling extra hungry, I'll add a whole grain tortilla with hummus on it at the bottom of my salad to make it a DIY burrito bowl!
My dinner meal will always consist of a grain & veggies. My latest go-to has been a sweet potato, brown rice/quinoa, and steamable veggies such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, Brussel sprouts and much more. I will as well make veggie pasta (I love the Vegetti it's SO GREAT) it's one of my favorite dinners!
Lastly, I will have some form of dessert (because why not?!). Dessert is one of my favorite meals of the day, so I'm actually going to do a separate blog showing some of my sweet tooth favorites. All vegan friendly!
I hope this helped give some perspective and some ideas of what to eat. These are all great go-to's for vegans without a stove and with limited time. Vegan life is due-able for all if you are truly interested! It's so beneficial to yourself and to others. I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what you think! :)
Love, Amanda
Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
